


Kitty Commotion

by EvilMuffins



Category: Free!
Genre: Cats, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-13 16:51:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5709853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/pseuds/EvilMuffins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto has finally moved in with Haru, and his friends think they've found the perfect apartment-warming present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kitty Commotion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DigitalMeowMix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalMeowMix/gifts).



> I was really happy to get to write for a fellow cat lover :) And we like all of the same ships!  
> Hope you enjoy!

“Nothing, it’s nothing!” Nitori squeaked, shoving the box under the bed.

It wasn’t a box full of magazines this time, at leastt. Shortly after the two boys had begun officially dating, Nitori had tossed all of them away (he had only been collecting the ones featuring an actor that had reminded him of Rin- no need to hang onto them now that he had the real deal). This was more like… Rin’s mind suddenly flashed back to the previous day, when he and Nitori had helped Momo to pack for break.

“You’re hiding an animal in here, aren’t you?”

With Momotarou, it had only been an assortment of creepy-crawlies, but something told Rin that his boyfriend would first quit swimming before befriending anything that wriggled, unlike Momo whose little plastic cages had been home to a variety of unspeakably squirmy horrors.

Rin sighed. “It’s okay, Ai. You know I won’t tell anyone.”

Hesitantly, Nitori dragged the cardboard crate out from underneath Momo’s bottom bunk.

Curled up on a little nest of fluffy towels, was a scruffy little black cat.

“It-it was so cold out, and he-!” Nitori began frantically, but Rin placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“It’s fine. I’m sure you’ve been taking great care of him,” Rin lifted the creature onto his lap. “I’ve seen the way you take care of the team. Everyone loves you, Ai, so I’m sure this little guy does too.”

It was true- Rin had come back to Samezuka early, before the start of winter break, on pretense of seeing how the team was making out. In truth, he had mostly wanted to see how Nitori was getting on as captain. It wasn’t that he didn’t think that his boyfriend was capable, or he wouldn’t have appointed him. However, he couldn’t shake the niggling little worries that always prodded him when it came to people he most cared about. He just couldn’t help himself. What if the other boys spoke over Nitori when he tried to instruct them?  What if no one could see the smaller boy when someone taller (that is to say, everyone else on the team) stood in front of him? Rin needn’t have worried, of course. If Rin dared to say it, Nitori was even more up to the task than either Mikoshiba or himself had ever been. Gentle, yet firm, Nitori didn’t even need to raise his voice for everyone to listen; the entire group followed his orders to a T every time.

“I know I've said it before, but I’m really proud of you, Ai,” Rin leaned over the cat purring in his lap to plant a kiss on current the Samezuka captain.

The cat let out an irritated squawk, being squished as he was by the two bodies.

Nitori, a little pink around the edges by now, turned his attention toward the cat, who was now batting around one of Momo’s little plastic figures that it had liberated from under the bed.

“Even if I’ve been taking good care of him up until now, I can’t just leave him here when we go to visit your friends,” Nitori fretted, “And besides that, I’m sure my parents won’t let me bring him home. We have a really big dog…”

“We’ll bring him with us. Makoto will keel over of joy if we show up with a cat for him to smother. If he can’t keep it, he probably knows someone who could. Don’t all the cat people in Tokyo know each other or something?”

Thankfully, Momo had left something resembling a cat carrier behind (both boys shuttered to think what kind of bug would have needed a cage of that size). Once Nitori had finished packing for the trip, the two packed up the cat, and made their way to the train station.

* * *

 

At times like this one, Nagisa would remember back to when Rei used to leave an entire empty seat between them when they rode the rain. Now, as Nagisa snuggled against Rei’s side, the days when they had first met were like some sort of distant dream. The warmth of Rei beside him, the sound of his voice chattering fun-facts about Tokyo, the smell of his jacket- like books and sunlight streaming into a lazy livingroom…how could things have ever been any other way?

Nagisa wasn't typically one to wax poetic; maybe they had just been on the train for too long…or not long enough he thought, intertwining his fingers with Rei’s. Either way, the train eventually reached its destination, allowing Rei and Nagisa to disembark.

"Did you remember the presents?" Rei asked, as they stepped onto the platform.

"Nooo, I thought you had them," Nagisa replied innocently.

Since showing up to Haruka and Makoto's new apartment with no housewarming present would be decidedly _not_ beautiful, the two set out to do some shopping before they arrived.

"Rei-chan, wait up," Nagisa tugged at Rei’s coat sleeve, pointing with the other hand. "That pile of newspaper is moving."

It was true- in the alleyway between two shops, a piece of newspaper was scooting right along its merry way. Rei lifted the paper to reveal a scruffy black cat, cheerfully batting at a second, crumpled, scrap of paper.

“Hey, little guy,” Nagisa cooed, kneeling down, hand outstretched.

The cat leapt into his arms with a purr.

“He certainly is personable,” Rei mused.

“I know!” Nagisa said, standing up. “Why don’t we bring him to Makoto? It’ll be the perfect gift!”

Rei crossed his arms, looking the creature over with the same critical frown he wore when swimsuit shopping. “He’s not a very beautiful cat… but maybe if we buy him a collar…”

Seeing as the cat had none of its own already, the two agreed that it was most likely a stray.

And so, Nagisa carried the cat into the pet store with them.

“The rhinestones, or the sequins?” Rei asked, holding two different collars up for Nagisa to inspect.

“Hmm…” Nagisa turned to the opposite side of the aisle, retrieving a large purple collar. “I like this one.”

“Nagisa,” Rei scolded, “That's way too big for him.”

Nagisa shook his head, smile angelic as he continued to stroke the cat. “I meant for Rei-chan.”

Rei made a little choking sound. “W-we’re in a hurry, Nagisa. We don’t to keep everyone waiting,” he said, marching into the next aisle.

Eventually the two settled, and butterfly print collar made its way into a shopping bag.

* * *

 

 “You’re looking out that window the way I look at water,” Haru intoned as he entered the livingroom, setting a plate of chocolate cookies down on the table.

“It’s a long trip to Tokyo, Haru! What if something happened to them?”

“They’re only a half hour late,” Haru reassured, sitting on the couch and picking up the nature magazine that lay beside the cookie tray (' _Waterfalls of the World Edition'_ ) . As he did so, he noticed the magazine that had been resting underneath it: ‘ _Kitty Commotion- Welcoming kitty into your home’_. He fixed Makoto with a questioning look.

So maybe that cat collecting app game that Makoto had been playing nearly non-stop lately was still no substitute for the real thing after all, Haru thought.

Makoto broke away from the window to sit beside him. “I thought that since we’re living together now, it might be nice to have something we could take care of together… Not that I’m not happy that you come with me to the cat café every weekend! But I mean, it could even be a different animal if you wanted, like a fish, or-“

Makoto had a fleeting image of Haruka cooking his favorite dish in the kitchen- maybe a fish wasn't the best idea.

Haru opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a knock on the door, soft and hesitant, followed by a louder wrapping, the sounds clearly belonging to two separate people.

“Come in,” Haru said, nearly as softly as the first knock, continuing to read a magazine article he had become engrossed in.

“Coming!” Makoto rushed to open the door. “I’m sorry about Haru’s hosting skills.”

He was greeted by a sniffling Nitori followed by a slightly exasperated Rin.

“It’s fine. We know how he gets,” Rin smiled sympathetically, before adding, “Er, he’s not in the tub again, is he?”

Makto chuckled. ”No, he’s right on the couch. Come on in.”

“Excuse us,” Rin said as he and Nitori came in and removed their shoes.

“Nitori, is everything alright?” Makoto asked as the teary-eyed boy entered the room.

“Rin is gone!” he wailed.

Haruka looked up from his magazine to stare at Rin in surprise.

The human known as Rin sighed. “He named the cat Rin. We-“

Just then, another knock came at the door, this one rapid and energetic.

“Mako-chan, Haru-chan! We brought you a gift!” Nagisa blurted the moment the door was opened.

 A cat leapt from his arms out into the room.

"Rin, you're okay!" Nitori cried out.

 Everyone present looked from Rin to Nitori, then back again, searching for explanation.

Rin began to explain, "Ai found a stray cat the other day, so we thought that Makoto might know what to do with him if we brought him with us, but I got bumped at the station and dropped the carrier as we got off the train. He escaped and ran off. How did you guys find him?"

"He was in an alley, playing with some newspapers," Nagisa explained, as the cat began to explore the room, taking a smack at a nearby lamp cord. "We thought he'd make a gift perfect gift for Mako-chan, and then Haru-chan would be happy too, because he gets happy when Mako-chan is happy!"

Haru stood from the couch and scooped up the cat, turning to face Makoto. "Listen, I was about to tell you that... I think we should get a cat. I was going to suggest that we go and look at some tomorrow."

"Haru!" Makoto threw his arms around his boyfriend.

"Don't crush the cat!" 

And so three couples, plus one cat, enjoyed the evening festivities amid laughter and shouts for the cat to get off the table.

* * *

 

_A few days later…_

“Haruuu! Have you seen the cat? …Haru?”

Makoto was greeted by nothing but the sound of running water from the direction of the bathroom.

“Haru! You’re not trying to bring Little Rin in the tub with you again!?”

“His name is Saba,” came the reply from the bathroom.

 

_The end_


End file.
